Sanski

I'm a new member here. I'm in the process of buying a tc. I don't know much about the tc at all, still trying to do my homework. I ordered it back in early October. I went to the dealer on Saturday and was told that not many manuals were made cause the American market only wants automatics. Then they told me that Indigo Ink Pearl is a hard color to find. To be able to find both is practically impossible. Then they started saying that the only way I could get it is if I get the tc with all the airbags, which at the moment I can't afford being a college student and all. Then they tried to sell me a Tundra. I don't know if they're just being lazy or what their deal is. So, is what they're saying true? Were there a limited amount of manuals produced and indigo ink pearl is a rare color or are the dealers just trying to be punks and sell me a Tundra instead? Thanks.

dante

around here Manuals were more available than Automatics due to the Autos being in much higher demand. Shop around, but getting the perfect combination of color/tranny/airbags might take either some time or some amazing luck. Hope this helps!! (and don't buy a Tundra.... )

BlkSandPrlTurbotC

Indigo Ink and Black Sand Pearl are the two hardest colors to get. Took me 3 months to finally get my black sand from japan. I have a 5 speed, and 5 speeds are more in demand for the 17-30 yr old range. as you get older your awareness goes away. my dad works for GM in Lordstown, OH, and they make more manuals then automatics. American market doesn't want foriegn products in their land, because they know the foriegn products are simply just better and blow them out of the water. why do you think the american market wants automatics. look at the majority of the american cars,.. they are automatics. it's an extra 800 dollars now a days to have an automatic, and people tend to move away from that and save the 800 by getting a manual.

They probably just want you to buy the Tundra b/c they will get more of a commison off of it.

tigress4121

Your dealer is giving you a load of bull. I ordered the Azure pearl in a manual and he said that one was a hard color to get in. I totally believe that is true... I still have yet to see one on the road. After waiting 7 weeks for the azure one I needed a car ASAP, so I switched to indigo in the manual and they had it in by the end of the week. I would suggest either going to another dealer or seeing if yours can dealer swap for what you want. Don't settle, don't buy a tundra, and don't let them talk you out of anything.

hal9000

i posted this in another thread..but in my area(upstate NY) there have been mostly 5 speeds coming through the dealers...there is a black 5sp w/ just side bags and an Indigo 5sp w/just side bags and they've been sitting for weeks...so don't believe him/her....

TrafficinLA

iowagary

Look - if you want the EXACT car you want (5 speed in a certain color), it could take a LONG time - like 3 months. They can order it from Japan for you if you're willing to wait. From the service you've gotten so far, however, I'd wait at a different dealership. Anyone who tries to sell you a Toyota when you came in for a Scion is a shifty bastard. But it's true - only maybe 25% of the tCs that are built are manual. It's just how the American market is. I'm not going to argue demand by demographics, but that's the fact. IIP is also a very rare color. Also a fact. Do this:

1. Find another dealer you feel good about.
2. Tell them what you want and tell them you'll wait to get the right car, but you want their promise that they'll get it to you in X amount of time (2-3 months).
3. Wait and be happy when it comes.

Kev_the_rev

yea.. try finding another dealership if they are gunna tell you its nearly impossible.. Here in Seattle, I shifted around to 3 different dealerships until one told me they could find me my color w/ options in two weeks. That's as long as I waited for mine. Don't let the dealership control you.. they should work hard for your money ;P

ScummyMcOwnage

Two weeks to get my IIP 5spd without airbags. ordered sept 28, got it oct 14. your dealer is full of crap. Tell him you want a tc, and you want what you ordered. Nothing else, so don't offer it.

Otocan

my dealer told me 6-8 weeks for a Flint Mica 5-speed with airbags - only harder car to get would be an azure pearl lol - he called me in 3 weeks telling me it's in.

nuff said

talk to a Scion dealer, them toyota salesmen will do just about anything... first guy we talked to at the dealership spat out "we've got an incredible celica on the lot right now come take a peek at it" lol

nethack4ever

Just another datapoint for you: I pre-ordered my IIP 5sp w/airbags in early June, got it in mid-July.

DL_tC

from my experience (i have spoken with many dealerships in the chicagoland area):

more autos are being produced than manuals.
very limited number of cars produced are being produced with the side air bags.
thus manuals with side airbags are rare. you will probably have to wait a while.

ive been waiting 13 weeks for my flint mica 5-speed with side airbags. just spoke with the dealership today and they said they have a flint mica 5-speed (no side airbags) on the way... so it is mine. However, it is going to take an additional 10-15 days for it to reach portland and then another 10-15 days for it to reach chicago.

try calling around different dealerships to see if they have any tCs unclaimed yet. otherwise, i would say to pick a dealership you like the most and wait.

also according to my dealership, scion allocates vehicles to dealerships depends on dealerships performance. If they are able to sell the cars more and quicker, they will receive more vehicles to sell from scion. so you may want to take this into account when you are choosing a dealership.

be prepared to wait. i have waited over 3 months now. will be 4 months when the car comes in december.

Sanski

I'll probably just go check out a dealer in Arizona and there's no way I'm buying a Tundra. All I really want is the color and manual. It's nice to know they're not too hard to find and that they do exist. The way the dealers were talking though, it sounded like there was no such thing.

brian

I guess you have to give a little to get a little. I had an order for a white 5sp and ended up waiting 7 weeks and NOTHING. I got fed up and started calling other dealerships to see what they could get. I explained to them that I needed a car by the time school rolled around and that I've been waiting forever. I thought by ordering 2 months before school started that it would be PLENTY of time. Wow was I wrong. I also thought that dealership didn't matter, so I went to the closest one, which was basically only a mile down the street from me. It was the smallest dealship ever, but I didn't think it mattered. When I started talking to other dealers, they let me know what they had on the lot, and what they had coming in. Within a week I had my indigo 5sp tc. indigo was my 2nd choice and I'm quite happy now. I love this car.

zoltiz

Order it from 10 different dealers... I called 20-30 dealers in 200 mile radius before I found the car I wanted and before that 4 dealers had my deposits. Ended up buying from a 5th dealer - it does take a lot of work, but it's possible to find what you want.

No matter what color you ask for - they will say it's hard to find. I was thinking about IIP with 5speed first, one dealer said it's hard to get, then I said ok, silver is fine, still hard to get. Then I saw black in person and made up my mind. But again, I was buying in July, when not many people were hunting for tCs...

Sorry for the worthless post ;)

RanmaP

I got mines in the color I wanted and the transmission I waited a little over a month.

Sales said more autos are being sold that manual here...

blackpearlTC

i think the moral of the story is that any color is hard to get because getting a TC is hard, period. anyway good luck to you, and i'm definitely glad that i only had to wait 2 hours to get mine, because they had to wash it and you know paper work takes forever.
:D :D :D

George

Any color or transmission that the dealer doesn't have in stock or in the pipe is automatically "hard to find". In this case, the dealer didn't have the tC you wanted and tried to switch you to a Tundra that he did have.

iowagary

No... you're missing it here. First off, most dealers around here have a waiting list long enough that everything in the pipe is already sold. So things are hard to find almost always, but they know what's harder than others. Manual is harder than auto. SAB is harder than non. Some colors are hard. But here is the real problem:

Any Scion dealer that tries to sell you say an auto when you want a manual isn't wonderful. But a Scion dealer that tries to sell you a TOYOTA instead of the car you want is slime. Not only do they have it on the lot, but their cut is WAY bigger and there is no hassle-free sales, which is part of the Scion brand. I try not to shop at dealerships where the people selling Scions sell anything OTHER than Scions. The first place I looked, the guy sold Scion, Toyota, and Used. Just that one guy. I said goodbye and went somewhere else.

George

I think that is pretty much what I said. The dealer can't get tCs, so they are selling pushing whatever they have.

Some people make a big distinction between Toyota and Scion, but from my point of view the only difference is that their "specially trained salespeople" won't dicker on Scions. Everything else shares the same facilities, personnel and procedures between Toyota and Scion.